I'm not wanting to start the age old "is OAT the best" debate, but as a current APP First officer student there at present, I can tell you for a fact OAT are turning away people quite reguarly from skills assessments. I know of 3 people I spoke to on the last assessment which were turned down although one of them was told to re-try in 6 months.
So, no, its not a farse i'm afraid.
I can also tell you as a real student (and not the usual complaining people on here who've never been to OAT or have been rejected at assessment) that once you're in OAT it does not mean you pay your way and get an ATPL. OAT do their own Finals which are much harder than the JAA exams. They will move you back a course if you fail some of them and will most defiantly kick you out if you're not doing well enough. This can happen right through to the flying stage which is also highly assessed. They're also the only school I believe that will give you every penny back if they have to do this. Its called "skills assurance" see the website for info.
I dont work for OAT, or trying to sell their products. I just spent ALOT of time weighing up the best schools including visiting them and hate people coming on here making statements which they know nothing about.
Hope that helps any serious prospective students.